A Mother In Town Poem by Bipin Patsani

Brought to live in town
With her working daughter-in-law,
A mother awoke one morning
And found herself surrounded with
All the affluence of a middle class home
Heading up, she did not know where.

It was a whole new world of concrete,
Shining wash-basin, cream and colour;
The washing -machine, T.V., fridge and cooler
Occupying their places in the dining space
And images in the dressing mirror looking taller.

But one thing was missing there,
One very important thing was certainly not there,
The thing which was very important to her
In all her life, held so dear.
In the grand show of glistening gadgets
And home appliances, she saw herself nowhere.
Lonely in a son's house, contrary to
The long summer when she had her way,
All she could do among several odd things
Was to keep watch.

An old woman in her seventies
Out of her mud haven in village,
She felt so much a stranger
In the artificial world and was scared of
Late night parties that one such night
She had to hide herself under a cot
Until her son returned with his wife and kids,
Lest some burglar should break in,
Strangle her or cut her throat.

Neither the smooth marble floor
Nor the bathroom shower
Could tempt her to stay there.
So, she came back to her soil at home
Where the air was humble and the sky clear.

There were of course no more rotis
To slide in with some mutton and curry
Unbecoming of a poor widow;
But she had nothing to be afraid of,
None to make her feel ashamed and sorry.